About

Background

Raines Feldman LLP, 2021 to present
Diamond McCarthy LLP, 2013 – 2021
Danning, Gill, Diamond & Kollitz LLP, 1991 – 2013
Juris Doctor, University of California, Los Angeles, 1991
Bachelor of Arts, Pomona College, 1988

Bar Admissions

State Bar California, 1991
United States District Court, Central District of California, 1991
United States District Court, Southern District of California, 2011
United States District Court, Eastern District of California, 2011
United States District Court, Western District of Michigan, 2010

Kathy represents a wide variety of clients, including bankruptcy trustees, federal equity receivers, state court receivers, litigants in commercial disputes, debtors, and secured and unsecured creditors in bankruptcy cases. She also works with buyers of assets in bankruptcy cases and whistleblowers in preparing tips to regulatory agencies to try to stop fraud and collect rewards.

Her experience in litigation in insolvency proceedings is also extensive. Representing both plaintiffs and defendants, Kathy zealously advocates for her clients in a wide variety of litigation matters, including fraudulent transfer actions and directors and officers litigation.

She frequently represents operating and liquidating trustees in cases pending in the United States Bankruptcy Court as well as receivers in the United States District Court and the Superior Court of the State of California.  She has also served as lead counsel in large-scale litigation involving recovery of assets in Ponzi scheme cases.

Kathy can assist whistleblowers in submitting tips to the SEC or the CFTC regarding ongoing frauds or statutory violations. Using counsel to submit a tip allows for anonymity and can greatly assist in what may be a complex and lengthy matter. Kathy can assist a whistleblower in rounding out an investigation, in analyzing and organizing the data, and in preparing a presentation to the regulators that can greatly increase the chances that the regulator will choose to investigate the case

Recent Awards and Distinctions

  • American College of Bankruptcy, Fellow, Inducted into the 27th Class, March 2016
  • American Bankruptcy Institute, Committee Member of the Year, April 2016
  • Super Lawyers Top Women 2016, 2017
  • International Advisory Award: Business Insolvency and Restructuring Lawyer of the Year in California, 2018
  • President’s Award, National Association of Federal Equity Receivers, 2020
  • The International Who’s Who of Asset Recovery Lawyers, 2013 – 2021
  • 2022 Top Bankruptcy Attorneys, The Daily Journal.
  • Best Lawyers in America, Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law, 2019-2023
  • Martindale Hubble AV Preeminent Attorney 2016-2023
  • Super Lawyers, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013-2023

Memberships and Positions

National Association of Federal Equity Receivers

  • Board of Directors, 2012 – 2014, October 2016 to present
  • Secretary, 2019 to present
  • Co-Chair, Conference Committee, 2012 to 2020, presently a member
  • Chair, Judicial Outreach Committee, 2016 to 2019, presently a member
  • Member, Nominating Committee, 2016 to 2019
  • Member, Regional Event Committee, 2017 to present

California Receivers Forum, Los Angeles/Orange County Chapter

  • Editor in Chief of Receivership News, 2012 to present
  • Secretary, 2010 - 2012
  • Board of Directors, 2010 to 2020
  • Los Angeles/Orange County Regional Council, 2020 to present

American Bankruptcy Institute

  • Board of Directors, 2017 to 2020
  • Member, Publications Committee, 2017 - 2019
  • Co-Chair of Commercial Fraud Committee, April 2015 to 2017
  • Special Task Director of Commercial Fraud Committee, 2013-2015

American College of Bankruptcy

  • Fellow, Class of 2016
  • Co-Chair of Ninth Circuit Distinguished Law Student Award Committee, 2017 to present
  • Member, Finance Committee, 2018 to 2022
  • Member, Judicial Nomination Review Committee, 2022 to present

Los Angeles Bankruptcy Forum

  • Board of Directors, 2022 to present
  • Co-Chair, Membership Committee, 2022 to present

Member, International Chamber of Commerce FraudNet global network, 2012-2015, www.icc-fraudnet.org

American Bar Association, White Collar Crime, Asset Forfeiture and Business Bankruptcy Subcommittee focused on parallel insolvency and criminal proceedings, 2012 to 2018

National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees, Past Member

Armenian Bar Association, Past Member

Century City Chamber of Commerce, Past Director

Media Quotations

  • San Diego Tribune, in an article entitled I felt so betrayed. Gina Champion-Claim launches a $400 million Ponzi scheme by Peggy Peattie. To see the article,  click here.
  • CNN on February 16, 2022, in an article entitled Hollywood actor’s Ponzi Scheme Explained: Why Investors Keep Falling for Scams by Allison Morrow. To see the article, click here.
  • Bloomberg Law on April 15, 2021, in an article entitled Madoff’s Case Provides Precedent for Future Ponzi Victim Payouts by Daniel Gill. To see the article, click here.
  • Roger Wood on his podcast, Steering Clear of Ponzi Schemes, on February 27, 2021. To hear the podcast, click here.
  • New York Times, on February 5, 2021, in an article entitled, A Bigger Risk Than GameStop? Beware the Ponzi Scheme Next Door, by Paul Sullivan. To see the article, click here.
  • RIAIntel, April 7, 2020, in an article entitled, Madoff Is Behind Bars. But With Markets Infected by Covid-19, More Ponzi Schemes May Be Unmasked, by Greg Bartalos. To see the article, click here.
  • Fox News on March 7, 2020, in an article entitled, Bernie Madoff billion-dollar ponzi scheme and what he wants now: Everything you should know, by Barnini Chakraborty. To see the article, click here.
  • Business Insider on March 13, 2019, in an article entitled, The world’s first embezzlement insurance looks to protect rich investors from Ponzi schemes like Madoff, by Meghan Morris. To see the article, click here.
  • Orlando Sentinel on February 5, 2019, in an article entitled, Villages resident tied to massive Ponzi scheme agrees to repay $1M made from fraudulent securities, by Martin E. Comas. To see the article, click here.
  • Bloomberg on December 8, 2018, in an article entitled, Madoff’s Victims Are Close to Getting Their $19 Billion Back, by Erik Larson and Christopher Cannon. To see the article, click here.
  • Voice of America Fraud Talk on August 25, 2014, interviewed by Chris Marquet. Listen to the interview here.
  • Wall Street Journal on May 13, 2014, in an article entitled, Madoff Fraud Claims Swell, by Dan Strumpf.
  • New York Times, July 18, 2013, in an article entitled, Bank in Madoff Case Settles With Some Plaintiffs and Gets Favorable Jury Ruling, by Susan Antilla.
  • Deseret News, June 14, 2013, in an article entitled, In Faith Communities, Fraudsters Prey on Trust, by Devon Merling.
  • The Ponzi Blog was cited in the Concord Monitor on March 21, 2013, in an editorial entitled, Lawmakers Should Reject Fund for FRM Victims.
  • The Art Newspaper, February 27, 2013, in an article entitled, Gauguin in Alleged Fraud by Former NFL Star, by Riah Pryor.
  • The Wall Street Journal, March 19, 2012, in an article entitled, Attorney Who Wrote the Book on Ponzi Schemes Discusses Mets Deal, by Jacqueline Palank.
  • The Wall Street Journal, January 5, 2012, in an article entitled, The Madoff Liquidation, Three Years Later, by Jacqueline Palank.
  • The Memphis Commercial Appeal, February 17, 2011, in an article entitled, Legal Opinions Favor Stanford Investors, Not Charities, by Toby Sells.
  • The Wall Street Journal, January 3, 2011, in an article entitled, Prosecutors, Trustees Fight For Dominance In Ponzi Bankruptcies, by Jacqueline Palank.
  • The Pasadena Weekly, March 20, 2008, in an article entitled, Smoke Screen, by Chip Jacobs.

Publications

  • Author of The Ponzi Scheme Blog
  • Ponzi-Proof Your Investments: An Investor’s Guide to Avoiding Ponzi Schemes and Other Fraudulent Scams (IRR Publishing 2013)
  • The Ponzi Book: A Legal Resource for Unraveling Ponzi Schemes (LexisNexis® 2012), co-authored with Hon. Steven Rhodes, United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Eastern District of Michigan
  • The Depths of Deepening Insolvency: Damage Exposure for Officers, Directors and Others (American Bankruptcy Institute 2013), co-authored with Prof. Jack F. Williams
  • Fraud and Forensics: Piercing Through the Deception in a Commercial Fraud Case, contributing author and editor (American Bankruptcy Institute 2015).
  • FraudNet Compendium, contributing author of chapter on Ponzi Schemes (to be published in 2013)
  • A Receiver’s Colorful Journey Into Fraudulent Schemes, co-author, American Bar Association Litigation Journal (Fall 2022)
  • Handling Claims in Ponzi Scheme Bankruptcy and Receivership Cases, 42 Golden Gate U. L. Rev. 567 (2012)
  • What Do You Do When the Feds Come For Your Assets? Third-Party Claims in Forfeiture Proceedings, American Bar Association Business Law Section’s Online Resource, Business Law Today (June 21, 2012)
  • Supplementing the Tools in the Trustee’s Toolbox, NABTalk, The Journal of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Trustees (Spring 2012)
  • Liability of Professionals and Insiders in Ponzi Schemes, 27 CEB Cal. Bus. L. Prac. 22 (Winter 2012)
  • Emergence of Mareva by Letter: Banks’ Liability to Non-Customer Victims of Fraud, Business Law International, Vol. 12 No. 2 (May 2011)
  • In Pari Delicto and The Blame Game: Should Receivers Get Caught in the Fray?, Receivership News (January 2011)
  • Opportunities for Trustees in Ponzi Scheme Cases, NABTalk, The Journal of the National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees (Summer 2010)